Insulated wire and the method or art of making same



March 16 1926. 1,577,179

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INSULATED vWIRE} AND THE METHOD OR ART OF MAKING SAME Filed Now r. 20, 1917 COVERING BRAIp COM PACTED C TTON SILVER COMPAC ED LOOSE SURFACE FIBRES UN COT TON SILVER CONDUCTOR WIRE.

INVENTORSY I f (/77 m ZZWI. ATTORNEY;

Patented Mar. 16, 1926.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM E. COOK, OF ST. GEORGE, NEW YORK, AND MERRITT B. BRADT, OF PENNING- PATENT OFFICE.

TON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIG-NORS TO PEERLESS INSULATED WIRE AND CABLE COM- IPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

INSULATED WIRE AND THE METHOD OR ART OF MAKING SAME.

Application filed November 20, 1917. Serial No. 203,055.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM E. Coon, a

subject of the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at 6- St. George, in the borough of Richmond, city of New York, county of Richmond, and State of New York, and Mniuu'rr B. BuAiyr,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Pennington, in the county of Mercer and 10 State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insulated Wire and the Methods or Art of Making Same, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the ac- 6 companying drawing, which forms a part thereof.

Our invention relates to insulated wire in which the electrical conductor is covered with a fibrous mass saturated or impregnated with an asphaltum or other waterproofing, insulating composition and a braid, and to the method or art of applying said fibrous material and said braid to the wire.

Heretofore insulated wires of the character above referred to have been extensively manufactured, the fibrous material, ordinarily cotton sliver, being spirally wound and compacted about the conductor wire and confined, while thus compacted so as to be at the desired density prior to the application of the braid thereto. In this type of wire, the braid serves more or less as a finish to the wire.

' The method of producing a .wire of the character above described consists in spirally winding a strip of fibrous material about a' conductor wire, compacting this material, winding the wire so prepared upon 40 a spool, subsequently, by means of a braiding machine, applying the braid to this wire, and finally saturating or impregnating the wire with asphaltum or other similar composition.

In a wire made in accordance with our invention, we secure a mechanical bond between the fibres of the cotton sliver and the strands of the braid and utilize the braid as a confining means for holding the sliver compacted preparatory to the application of asphaltum or other composition thereto, thus securing such permanency in the relation of the body of insulating material and i the braid upon same, as will minimize any tendency of the braid to strip from the wire as the result of wear thereof.

Another characteristic of a wire made in accordance with our invention, is that the laid fibres of the cotton sliver, or other material, extend longitudinally of the wire by reason of the fact that the strips of said material are laid upon the wire parallel thereto and subsequently wrapped about same in part by a forming die and in part by the application of the strands of this braid thereto.

The method of producing a wire made in accordance with our invention is such as to permit the application of the cotton sliver. or other fibrous material, to the wire and of the braid about said material, by a single and continuous operation. By this method, the strips of fibrous material are not subjected to those strains incidental to winding them spirally, and at high speed, about the Wire and likelihoodof attenuation of the sliver, or other material, or breakage thereof is thus reduced to a minimum. Hence,

by this method or art, it is possible to secure substantial uniformity in the thickness of the insulation throughout the wire and substantial uniformity in the density of this insulation.

The invention consists. primarily in an insulated wire embodying therein a con-- ductor wire, and insulation therefor cons1st1ng of a strip of lightly matted untwisted and unfelted fibrous material extending lon-.

gitudinally of .the wire, and a tubular braid covering and confining said fibrous material, the outer fibers of saidmaterial being enmeshed with, or entangled in, the meshes of said braid, whereby said braid is imbedded in, and mechanically anchoredto, said material, said material and said braid being im-' pregnated with an electro non-conductive and weatherproofing material bonding the fibers of said material andsaid braid together, and portions of said fibrous material overlaying portions of said braid, and in such other characteristics and in the novel steps and practices for producing said wire, all as hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the accompanying drawing, there is v the wire, the fibres thereof being loosely laid and extending in a direction longitudinally of said wire. The sole means for holding the strips bc compacted about the wire is an ordinary braid d in tubular form, the strands of'which are drawn tightly about the strips bc, the outer fibres of said strips being enmeshed or entangled in the meshes of the braid so that the braid is anchored at a multitude of points, directly to said fibrous coating. In practice, we have found that by so uniting the braid and the fibrous material of the strips b0, the braid is practically inseparable from the fibrous mate rial, even before the covered wire is passed through the bath of asphaltum or other composition, so that likelihood of the loosening of the braid at any point of the wire. is obviated and separation of portions of the braid, even in the event of cutting from the abrasion thereof, is prevented In order to secure the desired enmeshment of the fibres of the strips 6-0 in the meshes of the braid, it is essential that the said strips shall not be compacted or confined by any medium other than said braid.

A wire made in accordance with our invention after the application of asphaltum,

or other composition, thereof is smoothed, .polished and burnished in the usual manner.

The application of asphaltum will not disturb the emneshed or entangled fibres of the strips 6-10, but will serve to increase the ermanency of the bond thus created, by rmly cementing said fibres and said strands together.

In practice we have found it desirable to use two oppositely disposed strips of cotton sliver, or other absorbent material, of a width so that as these strips are folded together, the edges of one strip will lap the edges of the other and thus completely encircle the conductor wire. Ordinarily this strip is formed'by folding the edges of a wider strip and lapping1 them so as to have the edges of the strip t inner than the central portion thereof. The fibres of the strips are so loosely matted that after compaction,

there is substantially no variance in the diameter of the mass of this fibrous material at different points thereof.

The number of stri s used may be varied according to the desired thickness of the insulation or the diameter of the wire to which the insualtion is to be applied.

The method or art practiced in the production of a wire such as that above described, comprises the continuous feeding of mg machine at low speed, simultaneously the conductor wire through a tubular braidfeeding a non-compacted strip or strips of cotton sliver, or other fibrous material, at the same speed as the wire is fed, and laying said strip or strips upon the wire with the fibres thereof extending longitudinally of the wire. While the wire-\and the strip or strips are being thus 'fed, a plurality of strands'of cord or thread are braided. a out the fibrous strip or strips, the loose me hes forming the braid, being brought in Contact with the surface of the strips of fibrous material while they are uncompactcd thus causing these meshes to pick up, or entangle therewith, outer loose fibres of said material. Upon the subsequent closing of the meshes of the braid, the body of the fibrous strips will be compacted and formed about the wire, and the previously enmeshed fibres of the material of said strips will be firmly clampedor held by the braid so as to form x a firm interlock between said fibrous body and said braid.

Upon the completion of the application of the insulating material, including the' braid, to the wire, we pass the covered wire through a bath of asphaltum or other composition, thoroughly saturating or impregnating the insulating material therewith in a manner to make it weatherproof and increase its dielectric property. After the hardening of this composition, we form, polish and burnish the wire in the usual manner.

By laying the'fibres of the cotton sliver or other similar material longitudinally of the wire, there is little or no tendenc of the insulating covering to be unwound rom the wire when stripping the wire during installation.

The manner of applying the strips b and c is such as to relieve them of practically all stresses longitudinally thereof, thus avoiding attenuation of these strips, with a resultant thin spot in the insulation, or breakage of the strips, with a resultantloss of time in the operation of the apparatus.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the application of the body of insulating material and the braid covering therefor, is secured by substantially one and the same operation, thus permitting the complete cov- 00 I h I fibrous material compacted upon the wire, while the braid is being applied thereto.

The entangling or enmeshing of the fibres with the interwoven strands ofthe braid, is

secured by bringing these strands into engagement with the covered strips at. one angle, and shortenin this angle after engagement of the strips so as to maintain the strands in the proper relation to the fibrous material between the point of initial engagement of the strands therewith and thepoint of ultimate tightening of the meshes to secure the desired degree of compaction of the fibrous strips.

It is not our intention to limit the invention tothe. precise details herein shown and described, it being apparent that such may be varied without departing from the spirit 1. An insulated wire and scope of the invention.

Having described the invention what we claim as new anddesire to have protected by Letters Patent is z embodying therein a conductor wire, and insulation therefor consisting of a strip of lightly matted untwisted and unfelted fibrous material extendinglongitudinally ofthe wire, and a tubular braid covering and confining said fibrous material, the outer fibers of said material being enmeshed with, or entangled in, the meshes ofsaid braid, whereby-said firaid is imbedded in, and mechanically anchored); tgo, siiid lmaterial', saidmaterial and i said non-conductive and weatherproofing Iiiaterial bonding the fibers of said material and.

. said braid together, and portions of said fibrous material overlaying portions of said .braid.

.2. An insulated wire embodyingtherein a conductor wire, and insulation therefor con- J sisting of a strip of lightly matted. untwisted and unfelted cotton sliver extending longi-- tudinally of the wire, anda tubular braid coverin and confining said cotton sliver, the outer fi ers of said sliver being enmeshed, with, or entangled in, the meshes of said "braid, whereby said braid'is imbedded in, I and mechanically anchored to, said" sliver,

said sliver and said braid being impregnated with an electro non-conductive and weatherproofingmaterial bonding the fibers of said 7 sliver and said braid together,'andportions of said cotton sliver overlaying portions of said braid; o

' 3. 'An insulated wire embodying therein a conductor. wire, a compacted,- mattedfibrous body inclosing same, the fibers of said body being laid substantlally parallel with the,

axis of said wire, anda tubular braid covering and confining said fibrous material, outer being impregnated with an electro exterior of said of said material body inclosing same, the fibres of said body being laid substantially parallel with the axls of said wire, the fibres composin said strip being laid lengthwise thereof, an a tubular braid covering and confining said fibrous material, outer fibres of said material being enmeshed or entangled in themeshes of the braid.

5. Theherein described method or'art of making insulated wire consisting in layin a strip of non-compacted, loosely matt fibrous material upon a conductor wire, applying strands for forming a tubular bra-id to the exterior of said strip while it is still uncompacted, whereby said strand will be imbedded in said material, thereafter simultaneously closing the meshes of said braid electro non-conductive and weatherproofing composition.

6. The herein described method or art of making insulatedwire consistin in laying a noncompacted strip of matte fibrous material longitudinally .of and upon a conductor wire, applying a tubular braid to the strip while it is still un-' compacted, and closing'the meshes of said braid upon said fibrous material, while com pacting same, whereby thefibres of said ma terial will be laid substantially parallel with the axis of the wire, and outer bres of said materialwill be enmeshed .or entangledin the meshes of said braid. I 7. The herein described method or art of making insulated wire consisting in laying a plurality of strips of noncompacted mat- .ted fibrous material upon a conductor wire, applying a tubular braid to the exterior of said strip while it is stilluncompacted, and closing the-meshes of said braid upon said fibrous material while compacting same, wherebythe fibres will be laid substantially; parallel with the axis of the wire, and outer longitudinally of and fibres thereof will'beenmeshed or entangled in the meshes of said braid. p

In witness whereof, we hereunto 'aflixour signatures this 29th day of October, 1917 WILLIAM E; COOK.

I manrrrnnnan'r. 

